The Genealogical Sketch of
Wu’s Gaowu Branch of The First Ancestor Taibo (泰伯)

According to three sets of “The Books of Wu’s Family Tree of Gaowu Branch”
(These books are collected in Suzhou Library), Minxue (敏学)
(Yanxing Gong 彦行公),
one of the ninety-second generation grandsons of first ancestor Taibo (泰伯),
set up Wu’s Gaowu Branch. Before the ninety-second generation is called
generation (代);
starting from the ninety-second generation is also called “shi”(世).
Yanxing gong obtained Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial
examination) at the era of Chenhua Yiwei in Ming Dynasty (明朝成化乙未进士)
and was appointed head of Yixing County School. Later he transferred to the
prefecture of Suzhou and became a professor of Suzhou Prefecture School. In
Suzhou he settled down by Donggao Bridge, Zhide temple at Jinchang (卜居金阊至德庙东皋桥里).
One of his early ancestors named Wuliang(吴良)
who was a county magistrate, living in She County (歙县),
Anhui Province. He handed down to Shaowei gong (少微公)
who was appointed a chief procurator in Tang Dynasty(仕唐朝御史)
and Shaowei gong handed down to Minxue (Yanxing gong) who moved to Suzhou as
the first generation of Wu’s Family of Gaowu Branch.

Minxue
(Yanxing gong), Taibo’s descendant in the ninety-second generation, became the
first “shi of Gaowu Branch.

Henceforth, Shangxie (Xiye gong), Taibo’s descendant in the ninety-third
generation, became the second “shi”.

Xishun
(Wenhua gong),Taibo’s descendant in the ninety-fourth generation, became the
third “shi”.

Liangchen (Yanfu gong),Taibo’s descendant in the ninety-fifth generation, became
the fourth “shi”.

Zhongfa (Chunmeng gong),Taibo’s descendant in the ninety-sixth generation,
became the fifth “shi”.

Shichang (Muchun gong),Taibo’s descendant in the ninety-seventh generation,
became the sixth “shi”.

Yuantai (Fengchun gong),Taibo’s descendant in the ninety-eighth generation,
became the seventh “shi”.

Shikang (Zhenfan gong),Taibo’s descendant in the ninety-ninth generation, became
the eighth “shi”.

Hongji
(Shaoyuan gong),Taibo’s descendant in the one hundredth generation, became the
ninth “shi”.

Shiyu,Taibo’s descendant in the hundred and first generation, became the tenth “shi”.

Yonghan,Taibo’s descendant in the hundred and second generation, became the
eleventh “shi”.

Zhiyun,Taibo’s descendant in the hundred and third generation, became the
twelfth “shi”.

Chuanxin,Taibo’s descendant in the hundred and fourth generation, became the
thirteenth “shi”.

Jingyuan,Taibo’s descendant in the hundred and fifth generation, became the
fourteenth “shi”.

Liao,Taibo’s descendant in the hundred and sixth generation, became the
fifteenth “shi”.

Datong, Taibo’s descendant in the hundred and seventh generation, became the
sixteenth “shi”.

Each
of the status of a generation in the Gaowu Branch is in accordance with a poem
in classical Chinese in “The Books of Wu’s Family Tree of Gaowu Branch” which
says: “chuan jing li da ben,yi de shou chao yi, guang yu yi shi hou, cheng xian
qing lu sui”. (The general idea of above poem is as follows:

"Learning the analects of Confucius helps setting up the code of ethics.

Raising moral standards enables people to abide the rules and regulations of
imperial court.

In
order to bring glory to families and forefathers you must observe teachers’
instructions.

By
carrying on the excellent traditions of forefathers people can enjoy a peaceful
life."

Tracing back to the source of Wu’s family, the surname of Wu came from Xuanxiao（玄嚣），one
of two sons of Leizu(嫘祖),wife
of Yellow Emperor (黄帝).The
other son was Changyi (昌意).
Both of them inherited the Yellow Emperor’s surname ji (姬姓).

Xuanxiao ruled the tribe on
the Central Plains (中原).
His generations went down as a branch of Wu’s family. According to ‘The Book of
Wu’s Family Tree in Danyang’ (丹阳吴氏宗谱)，people
of Wu’s family considered Xuan Xiao to be their second ancestor after the Yellow
Emperor. After the era of Xuanxiao , his outstanding descendants as Jiaoji (蛟极)，Di
Hao (帝喾)
Houji (后稷)，Buyao
(不窑)，Gugong
Danfu (古公 父)carried
on the family line. In the end Gugong Danfu and his descendants destroyed the
Shang Dynasty（商朝）and
established the Zhou Dynasty (周朝)。
3100 years ago Taibo and Zhongyong (仲雍),
the eldest son and the second son of Gugong Danfu, both surnamed Ji (姬姓)，escaped
together from Zhou to Wu area and established the Wu State with the surname of
Ji (姬姓吴国)。
In 473B.C. the Wu State was defeated by the Yue State (越国).
People of the Wu State adopted the surname of Wu in memory of their former
state. Taibo died. As he had no son, his younger brother Zhongyong was
acknowledged as the successor ancestor of Wu’s family.

Following is the thirty generations starting from ancestor Taibo who gave up the
throne:

Taibo
Jijian Shuda Zhouzhang Xiongsui

Kexiang Jiang Jiuyi Yiwu Kelu Zhouyao

Quyu
Yiwu Qinchu Zhuan Pogao

Jubei
Quqi Shoumeng Jizha Zhisheng

Qifan
Xu Shou Miyong Gouyu

Zishan
She Zhang Mu Shen

Emperor Shoumeng (吴王寿梦)
is Taobo’s descendant of the eighteeth generation. During the period of Shoumeng,
the Wu State became stronger and stronger . Shoumeng had four sons: Zhufan (诸樊),
Yuji (余祭),
Yumei (余昧)and
Jiza (季扎).

The
first three sons took the reign one after another, but the youngest son gave up
the rule. So Prince Liao (僚),
son of Yumei, came to the reign. Then Zhufan’s son Prince Guang (光),
got acquainted with distinguished men secretly in order to kill Emperor Liao.
Later, a warrior named Zhuan Zhu (专诸)
introduced by Wu Zixu (伍子胥)
killed Emperor Liao (吴王僚)
with a dagger hidden in a fish. At last Prince Guang took the throne. He became
He Lu (阖闾),
the Emporer of Wu. Emperor Fu Chai (吴王夫差),
the son of He lu was Taibo’s twenty-first

Generation.

The following is the
thirty-first generation to the sixtieth generation.

Rui Qian Xin
Guangzhi Qianqiu

Changling Quan
Long Fuxing Han

Kangcheng Xin
Rusheng Gui Wenzhi

Yingzhi Kangnian
Siying Zhengyi

Qin Shou Wenwei
Liang Yifang

The following is the
sixty-first generation to the ninety-first generation.

Shaowei Gong Quan
Quan Shuzhen

Ju Ming Daolong
Jin Shenzhi

Yi Jingan Jian
Zuo Long

Liang Yongyan Guan

Yu Yuan Di
Kuangda Leifang

Hanzi Meishan
Ben Zengshou Yongfu

Zhixian Qihu
Shichen

Minxue (Yanxing gong) was
Taibo’s descendant in the ninety-second generation.

Now, arranging in the
generation order of the stating of “The Books of Wu’s Family Tree of Gaowu
Branch”, in Suzhou we already have the status of the generation “shou”(守)
in our Gaowu Branch, that is, Taibo’s one hundred and eleventh